Services

Dispute Resolution & Litigation

Litigation funding & insurance

Litigation can be very expensive, particularly when considering potential liability for an opponent's costs. As a result, many people are afraid to pursue claims, even if they have a strong case. We have a variety of payment models, available to both claimants and defendants, which allow you to remove or radically reduce your own legal costs and cover the risk of having your opponent's costs awarded against you. We regard this as an extension of the firm's tradition and culture of ensuring that clients have access to justice. Here we answer some frequently asked questions:

What is a CFA?

A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is an agreement you reach with SM&B which shifts part of your own cost risk from you to the firm. You may hear CFAs referred to as 'no win, no fee' arrangements. If you win the case, your costs are usually be paid by the other side. If you lose, without a CFA, you usually have to pay your costs and the other side's costs. With a CFA, you do not have to pay the proportion of our fees which we have agreed with you are covered by the CFA.

What is ATE?

Many individuals and businesses do not have the financial resources to pursue legal claims even where the merits are good and there is a strong prospect of success. A major deciding factor is potential liability for an opponent's costs in the event of a claim failing. With the known risks of litigation, this could be crippling for individuals and small businesses in particular as such costs can easily run into six figures.

• ATE insurance takes the risk of costs away if you lose. The insurers pay the opposition's legal fees;

• ATE insurance can be considered for all individuals or businesses, big or small;

• ATE insurance can be used in a wide range of disputes including commercial matters such as contract claims, enforcement of rights, media/IP and debt collection, defamation and privacy claims, personal injury and professional negligence disputes;

• SM&B's ATE insurance scheme can be used for a claim up to 2 years old, with prospects of success over 51% and which is for £20,000 or more;

• SM&B has been delegated authority on behalf of leading expenses' insurer, Temple, to offer ATE cover.

Why do we recommend ATE insurance?

ATE Insurance gives the confidence to chase an unpaid fee or pursue a good claim rather let it go for fear of costs' exposure. It provides peace of mind as to cost, removing the fear of an adverse cost order and further financial damage. If you lose, you do not have to pay the insurance premium.

Current law reform proposals

The government has now published a legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders bill including reform of civil litigation costs. Its proposals including abolishing the recovery of CFA success fees and ATE premiums. The potential impact is succinctly described in attached article by Martin Moore of the Media Standards Trust, " Legal reforms will virtually kill off CFAs", which includes references to the CFA cases conducted by SM&B on behalf of Robert Murat, Christopher Jefferies and Reza Pankhurst. SM&B is committed to access to justice and members of the Dispute Resolution and Litigation team are active in the opposition to these proposals.

For further information contact our dispute resolution and litigation team and they will arrange to meet with you to discuss your needs and the way in which SM&B can best assist.